10- Are You Ready?

Kelso sat by his foreign buddy, telling him with a wide smile, "I heard Pam Macy is running around with a shot gun! I mean, Pam Macy? I don't know what's scarier, the fact that they're still rounding up those West Lake people or that the girl who couldn't toss a rock straight has a gun."

Fez nodded but offered a reason, "I do not know Kelso, when we walked over here," he gestured to the Hub, from the groups of people huddled together with their makeshift weapons to the big guy playing pinball, "a lot of people were on edge. Rumor has it Todd Bradley was shot a bunch o times and that Leslie Canon is pregnant with their unborn child."

"Don't trust rumors," Kelso told him, taking a bite out of his sundae. He chewed ice cream with his mouth open, explaining to Fez as if he knew all the answers to the world, "I bet anything Todd's fine. Probably laying around at his house with his hot, un-pregnant, girlfriend."

"How can you be so sure?" Fez asked, sipping his cherry cola.

Kelso swallowed, "Coz rumors can never be trusted! I once heard a rumor that Hyde was planning to blow up the school. And even though Old Main Elementary school was nearly burned to the ground, who's to say Hyde did it, huh? Maybe lightning struck it or something. And I also heard a rumor that Donna was from a secret colony of Amazons in Wisconsin. And that's just stupid! Everybody knows that Amazons live in the Amazon Rain Forrest in Africa! And Donna doesn't live in Africa, so she can't be an Amazon! And then I heard this other rumor that Jackie had a wandering eye! Can you believe it? Jackie Burkhart wanting anyone else when she has a stud like me?"

Fez shrugged, "But what if she does. Then what?"

Kelso kept smiling, liking his chocolate syrup covered face, "But she doesn't."

Fez was about to open his mouth in protest about how obvious it was that something was going on with Eric and Jackie, but he quickly closed it, opting to instead drink his cola.

Kelso's smile grew too large on his face as he popped another scoop of ice cream in his mouth, "Jackie only wants me. I'm her Apollo Rocket of Love after all!"

Fez quietly nodded.

(?!))

"Marry you? Eric, are you nuts! You love another woman!" Donna cried out, getting to her feet.

"Yeah, I do!" Eric protested, "But…but…uh…um…"

As he fell flat on his words, Donna nodded, "Exactly. 'But-uh-um-er-ah-eh-ugh!'"

Eric slumped his shoulders, admitting, "But Donna, you've done so much for me, and we ended so badly, I just don't want you to hate me. You're like, like my best friend!"

She stared at him for a while, really staring at him. Finally she sighed, reaching up to her own black eye from the night before and told him slowly, "You see this bruise?"

He slowly nodded.

She sighed, "I'm gonna be away for a while, Eric. My mom wants to go to California to visit my grandmother, and I think I'm gonna go with her. We'll be gone a week at most, but knowing my mother and her terrible sense of direction, it could be longer. I'm hoping that as soon as this bruise heals, I'll be back in the basement, and I'll be your friend again. But it needs time to heal, Eric. Do you understand this?"

Again he slowly nodded.

She then nodded slowly, scratching the back of her neck, her face betraying her conflicted feelings of betrayal and friendship.

"So, I'll, uh," He swallowed, "I'll see you when you get back?"

Donna shrugged, chewing on her lower lip, "Sure."

He tried to go in for a hug, but she blocked him and held out her hand for a handshake. He clumsily took it, and they shook hands for two minutes straight before she told him, "Bye, Eric."

"Bye." He mumbled. As they broke hands, he turned toward her bedroom door.

"Donna?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks," He started, one foot out the door, "For not like, beating me up or making me eat dirt after you found out about… well, y'know."

As he turned, she called back to him, "Eric?"

He quickly turned to see her, "Yeah?"

She gave him a sad smile, her eyes glassy as she repeated words she never thought she'd say again, "Thanks for the ride."

That was the last time he would see her in a long time.

)(?!)

1968:

The Forman's Backyard:

"I am the princess and Michael, you are my prince. Now the evil witch-" a short girl with dark pigtails pointed to the overall wearing tall redheaded girl with her hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail, "that's you Donna." The tall girl scowled, "I hate playing these stupid games! You always make me the witch!"

The shorter girl rolled her eyes, "You brought the broom, Donna."

"You told me to bring the broom!" The taller girl shot back, "This isn't fair!"

The shorter girl groaned, "Ugh! Will you please be quiet so I can continue the layout for the story?!"

The tall girl huffed, throwing the broom across the yard in a fit of anger, "I don' wanna play the witch anymore!" She then stomped the ground, "I don' wanna, I don' wanna, I don' wanna!"

"Why not?" The shorter girl challenged, ignoring the snickers of the tallest boy with headgear and the curly haired boy in sunglasses.

Donna threw up her arms, "I'm jus' tired of always playing the bad guy! This week I'm a witch, last week I was an alien, the week before I was a fire-breathing monster!"

The boy with headgear chuckled, "Don't forget the time you were Herpes!"

Donna narrowed her eyes at the boy, "Thanks Kelso, but you can stop it now."

The boy with the long curly hair snickered, shoving his hands in his camo jacket, "And then there was the time you were serial killing ghost. That was my favorite."

Donna rolled her eyes, "Seriously Hyde, you can stop it now or I'll mention the time she made you manservant in her Cinderella story."

Kelso went howling at that, pointing at their other small friend who was busy inspecting the autumn leaves in the backyard, "Hey Eric! Remember Jackie's Cinderella story?"

The boys face deepened in a hard blush as he shook his head feverishly that he didn't.

Kelso laughed, "I was the prince, Jackie was the princess, Hyde was a manservant and Donna was the evil stepmom and you were the step sister!"

Hyde's face crinkled with un-amusement, "Shut up Kelso."

Kelso's laughter died down to chuckles as he elbowed his curly haired friend in the ribs, "It was funny 'coz he wore a dress! And it was funnier 'coz you were in tights!"

Hyde's eyes darted to Donna who was obviously trying to hold back a smile at the thought. His ears quickly reddened as he snorted at Kelso, "Well you looked stupid with a pillow over yer head!"

"It was my hat!" Kelso defended.

"And a sheet tied around her neck!" Hyde added, "You looked like an escaped mental patient!"

"It was my cape and all heroes have capes!" Kelso boldly defended.

"You kept jumping around and screaming!" Hyde shouted at him, "Mrs. Forman thought you were having a seizure at one point!"

Kelso huffed, "I was trying to get my cape to flow 'coz everybody knows all heroes have flowing capes!"

Hyde crossed his arms, "And I guess all heroes have plungers too, huh?"

Kelso soon got cross, "That was my mighty sword of thunder and stop making fun of me!"

Donna crinkled her nose at the memory, "You kept shoving my favorite stuffed animal between yer legs and that's just disgusting. I couldn't cuddle with it anymore knowing what you did to it and I had ta give it away ta charity!"

"Mr. Ed was my noble steed!" Kelso shouted, now getting hot under the collar, "You guys have no artistic senses, do ya?!"

Eric then walked over to his friends, shaking his head, "Everyone, I think we should lay off of Kelso."

Kelso nodded, smiling at his short friend, "Thank you, Eric!"

Eric slyly smirked, "We wouldn't want him to attack us with his mighty plunger of thunder."

Donna and Hyde broke into soft chuckling, trying to hide their faces from Kelso as the older boy's face fell, "Ah! How dare you!"

Jackie shouted at the top of her lungs, "Ugh! You all are so stupid! This is my story and I want it told my way!"

Donna stopped her silent laughter to tell Jackie immediately, "If you make me a witch, so help me, I'll curse you!" She then picked up a fallen tree branch, waving it slowly as if it were a dangerous wand.

Jackie groaned, "Fiiiiiiinnnnee."

Donna beamed, lowering her wand, "Great! What am I?"

"A Queen." Jackie promptly answered, resisting the urge to smile mischievously.

Donna gave her stamp of approval, "I like the sound of that." She then placed her hands on her hips, aiming her chin high at the sky, "I am a Queen!"

Jackie quickly added, "Yes, you are the evil Queen who wants me dead."

Donna's face fell, "Jackie, c'mon!"

The small girl in dark haired pig tails smirked, taking a small bow as she lifted the hem of her skirt by half an inch, lowering her head politely, "And I, am Snow White!"

Donna couldn't help but mumble to Hyde, "After a month of her turning me into the bad guy, I kinda do want to chase her into the dark, enchanted forest. Maybe then I'll get some peace." Hyde chuckled, "She's Kelso's friend, not ours." Donna nodded, mumbling, "Right."

Jackie clapped her hands, getting Hyde's attention, "You are the huntsman."

Hyde shrugged. Huntsman was an upgrade from manservant.

The short girl than turned to the boy with headgear, "And Michael, you will be the prince."

Donna shook her head, "I object!"

Jackie raised an eyebrow at this, "What?"

Donna gestured over to Kelso, "He's always the prince! Maybe it's time you give someone else a try." She then pointed to Eric's Labrador puppy, Cupcake, "I suggest you give Cupcake a go."

"My prince will not be a dog." Jackie told the smirking girl flatly. She then looked over at her boyfriend-to-be, Michael Kelso, watching him as his eyes widened with pure love for the dog.

'If only he looked at me that way.' She sighed before looking over at Eric. The shortest boy was wiping dirt off his shoes, careful not to get any on his corduroy pants. Kitty was always worried about that, and Eric did his best to be clean for his mother.

She then nodded, making her final decision when Kelso dank to his knees, rolling all over the ground with Cupcake, letting the dog lick his mouth.

"Okay, Michael, you're the dwarf with seven split personalities. Cupcake will be your only companion."

Kelso looked up, shock, "What? But I thought I was the prince!"

Jackie pointed between him and the puppy, "You have dog slobber all over you! You're not kissing me like that!"

Kelso looked at Cupcake, the puppy wagging it's tail and pressing it's wet nose on his knee. He then shrugged, "Okay, I guess I can be a crazy dwarf."

Jackie then promptly turned to Eric, "Are you ready?"

The boy tilted his head, confused, "Ready?"

Jackie nodded as if it the most obvious thing in the world, "Mm-hm, to be my Prince Charming!"